This Ramjet Artillery Shell Could be a Game Changer in Ukraine
A ramjet artillery shell that can triple the range over traditional 155mm Howitzer shells could change the calculus on the ground in Ukraine.
On July 11th, 2014 two Ukrainian mechanized brigades, the 24th and 72nd, assembled outside of Zenopillya, Ukraine. Their goal was to push back breakaway Russian separatist forces that had taken control over Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts in the previous months.
But the Ukrainians were unaware of several Russian artillery units that had amassed on the Russian side of the border.
The first sign that something was about to happen was a swarm of Russian drones overhead. At the same time, cyberattacks hit Ukrainian command and control systems.
Immediately after, a Russian artillery “fire strike” almost destroyed two full Ukrainian mechanized battalions in a few minutes.
That was Russia’s announcement to the world that artillery, long thought obsolete in the age of stealth fighters and hypersonics, was back. (The Russians denied involvement because, at the time, they were still trying to maintain plausible deniability through Maskirovka.)
The War in Ukraine has become something of a proving ground for how well U.S. weapon systems perform against large, nation-state forces. But it’s…
